Paul Mescal to Do Own Singing as Paul McCartney in Beatles Biopic

Paul Mescal explains one key element of Paul McCartney’s portrayal in the upcoming Beatles movies. Director Sam Mendes is currently in development on not one, but four films based on the mega-hit band. Each biopic movie will focus on a different member of the Fab Four, telling the story from their perspective.

Mescal will play Paul McCartney, one of the two surviving members of the Beatles today. He is joined by a cast that includes Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. At the moment, all four movies are set for theatrical release in April 2028.

Speaking with IndieWire, Mescal reveals one key element of playing McCartney. When asked whether he would do his own singing for the Mendes movies, Mescal replied, “Yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah.“

Mendes was also asked if he had met with McCartney in preparation for the role, which he has. He called the music star “an extraordinary man,” in a full statement realized below:

“I have, yeah. He’s an extraordinary man, like to spend any time— it’s a crazy sentence to say that I’ve spent time with that man, let alone play him.”

What This Means For The Beatles Movies

While Mescal does not speak for all of his co-stars when noting that he will do his own singing, this is likely a sign that all the main stars will be authentically singing their parts. None of these four actors are known for major on-screen musicals, so it will be interesting to see audiences seeing any of them exercise their vocal chops.

Singing one’s own role (or not) is a vital decision for any music biopic, and not every director or actor has chosen the same thing. Timothée Chalamet sang Bob Dylan songs for last year’s A Complete Unknown, whereas Rami Malek merely lip-synced for Bohemian Rhapsody.

Malek still ended up winning an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, so it is not true that singing authentically is the only way to guarantee success. It is, however, a good way to get in some early press, as audiences will be left wondering how much Mescal, and the rest of the cast, will sound like their Beatles counterparts.

Our Take On Paul Mescal Doing His Own Singing

As a huge McCartney music fan myself, I’m excited to see what Mescal can bring to the table when he sings the songs himself for these Beatles movies. While portraying any Beatle is difficult, McCartney arguably has the most extreme vocal chops as any of them. This will make Mescal’s task significantly harder.

While Mescal did not talk extensively about the process in this recent interview, he sounds at least confident about it at a baseline by saying “absolutely, yeah.” If all goes well, this confidence will translate into a positive vocal performance in the Beatles movies.

Date of Birth

1960

Active

No

Number of Albums

13